WE THE PEOPLE

Americans will be grappling with a number of sensitive and critical issues throughout 2014 and beyond. Some new, some old and some never-ending – concerns about race, religion, violence, politics, guns, climate change, war and civic responsibility are just some of the issues that may polarize all or segments of the nation. We The People will bring awareness to different viewpoints in the hopes of educating its readership. Please be encouraged to join in and share your perspective.

President Obama talks about progress rebuilding our economy during his Weekly Radio Address.

Engineers from the 317th Engineer Company shovel a load of gravel to create a tent pad at the Joliet Training Area in Elwood, Illinois, to prepare the site for a Warrior Training Exercise scheduled for May 2015. The company used this work as an innovative readiness training opportunity to maintain and improve its engineer skills. The Joliet Training Area is the largest local training area run by the 88th Readiness Support Center in the Army Reserve. The 317th Eng. Co. falls under the 416th Theater Engineer Command. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Michel Sauret)

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Thomas Vamvakos (left), a tactical air control party specialist with the 169th Air Support Operations Squadron, and Latvian Cpl. Janis Gabranis (right), a TACP with the Latvian National Armed Forces, carry Senior Airman Lance A. Liggett to a medical evacuation point after a simulated roadside bomb explosion at Operation Northern Strike in Grayling Air Gunnery Range, Grayling, Mich., Aug. 14, 2014. Northern Strike was a three-week-long exercise led by the National Guard that demonstrated the combined power of joint and multinational air and ground forces. TACPs with the Air National Guards 169th ASOS from Peoria, Ill., and more than 5,000 other armed forces members from 12 states and two coalition nations participated in the combat training. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Lealan Buehrer/Released)